02.09.07

Three time AL all-star and former Orioles skipper Hank Bauer has passed away at the age of 84. Bauer was a fixture on the Yankees’ powerhouses of the 1950′s that won the World Series 7 times in a decade, 9 times in ten years, and as the Journal News’ Peter Abraham reminds us, was also a key player in a crucial off-field moment in Yankee lore.

In 1957, he went to the Copacabana night club in Manhattan with Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and Johnny Kucks. Some other patrons started to heckle Sammy Davis Jr. and a scrap broke out.

Bauer reportedly broke the nose of one Edwin Jones but was never charged.The fight led the Yankees to trade Martin, who they thought was a bad influence on Mantle. The players involved were fined $1,000, which was a fortune in those days.

Bauer never admitted to throwing the punch. But I remember once at an Old Timers Day he was asked about it and he said, œI can™t remember exactly what happened but it was a hell of punch!